AMERICAN HOMECOMINGS: Top reporting on mental trauma and the U.S. military

Last Saturday, ex-sniper Chris Kyle and fellow veteran Chad Littlefield were shot and killed at a Texas gun range. The accused shooter is a former Marine, who sources say suffered from PTSD after serving in Iraq.

The murder has reignited conversation on the mental trauma suffered by hundreds of thousands of U.S. service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last week, the Department Veterans Affairs reported (PDF) that an estimated 22 veterans committed suicide per day in 2010. Suicides hit a record-high of 349 in 2012, and more active-duty soldiers died by suicide than in combat last year.

The wars may be winding down, but the battle against PTSD is far from over. We've compiled some of the best journalism on the mental traumas faced by a generation of service men and women, and the U.S. military's struggle to treat them.